Two men arrested in Gualala drive-by shooting

Authorities arrested two people Wednesday who were allegedly involved in a drive-by shooting in Gualala, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies were dispatched at 10:14 p.m. Jan. 29 to a Gualala home for a reported drive-by shooting. The victim's family members told dispatchers that the victim had been shot in the face while standing in her front yard, according to the MCSO.

An on-duty Sonoma County resident deputy sheriff heard the call being dispatched to Mendocino County sheriff's deputies and responded to the scene to assist.

The Sonoma County deputy sheriff arrived first and got a description of the vehicle spotted leaving the scene. The deputy was familiar with the vehicle, knew it to be associated with Lamont B. Salgado, 18, of Stewarts Point, and knew he lived on the Kashia Reservation in Stewarts Point in Sonoma County, according to the MCSO.

Mendocino County sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene and found two spent shotgun casings in the road, from where the shots were allegedly fired. Mendocino County sheriff's deputies interviewed witnesses and processed the scene for additional evidence.

Around 12:10 a.m., Sonoma County sheriff's deputies reported they had found the suspects' vehicle, an older-model sedan, on Skaggs Springs Road east of Stewarts Point. Mendocino County sheriff's deputies also responded to the area to assist.

Found inside the sedan were several spent shotgun shells, which matched the shells located in the street at the scene of the shooting, according to the MCSO.

Witnesses reported that Salgado and Christopher J. Ochoa, 21, of Rohnert Park, had been in control of the sedan, according to the MCSO.

Deputies investigated further and found Salgado and Ochoa inside a home near where the vehicle was parked, and arrested both men on suspicion of conspiracy and assault with a deadly weapon.

A shotgun, believed to be the weapon used in the shooting, was recovered from a separate home nearby, according to the MCSO.

The victim was flown to a hospital by air ambulance and was being treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to the MCSO.

Salgado and Ochoa were booked at the Mendocino County Jail, each under $40,000 bail.